This review was caused by a wizard. While that statement is an outright lie, that happens to be the plot of the RMN Halloween event of 2011. Mario's friends are turned into boos by the crankiest Magikoopa in the Mushroom Kingdom, Kamek (who is inexplicably being called Wizard in the intro). Unfortunately, he didn't just cast a spell on them: he also transformed the Mushroom Kingdom into a ghostly world.

We've got levels to play and points to give, so let's get to it.

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Intro by Link_2112

While not an actual level, first impressions do matter and Link_2112 is willing to deliver a hell of an impression. The animation is fun to watch, the story, while a bit simplistic, is to the point. It also helps that the graphics of the level are pleasant to look at, though there isn't much to examine.

Grade: N/A

Ghostwall by Kentona

I have mixed feelings about this level. The concept is that a giant boo is trying to murder you and will follow you throughout the level. If he catches you, you die instantly. Graphically, the level looks fine. Design wise, it is fine. The problem is we are given a power-up that is about as useful as bringing an umbrella to a meteor shower. We can't use it on the enemies, but it does give us an additional hit against the eeries that are waiting for us.



Run Mario!

Despite that complaint, the level is fun to speed through with the exception of navigating the vines. It's also a bit hard for an early level, but nothing too outlandish.

Grade: 4/5

Ghostdancers by Solitayre

Those boos sure enjoy dancing (rotating) to slow, hauntingly, beautiful music. The level starts off with an up-section, has a p-switch puzzle, and a spike-wall section. Solitayre does a nice job of mixing up the obstacles and doesn't overuse any of the elements in his stage. He also gives us a leaf power-up, which is a little more appropriate for dealing with boos. We still can't hit them, but it gives us more control over our jumps.

Graphically, the stage is nice to look at and fun to play. We also get a checkpoint, which is nice to have for a medium sized stage like this one.

Grade: 5/5

Friendly House by ?

I'm going to presume Kentona did this safe area. It's not a level and there is a distinct lack of a house. We're in a one-screen forest, that looks rather nice, with some toads who are happy enough to provide us directions. We also learn that Kamek has erected a forcefield and we need three stars to break it.

Also, to the east is the Port of Daven. I got the reference and face-palmed myself. Davenport was one of the developers of this game and the reference is a pun on his name. PUNTASTIC humor aside, the player can use this place to get power-ups if they need them.

Grade: N/A

The Phantom Train by LockeZ

We're not done with the references at all. We have a nice homage to the Phantom Train of Final Fantasy 6. The music is appropriate, given the level name, and the graphics are good. It is one of the harder levels that you might have to train (I know it's a pun. I can do them too.) for to beat.

We're also going to be assaulted by sniffits, hammer brothers, bob-ombs, shell guys, ninjis, and boos. Not to worry, LockeZ is going to give us a Yoshi to help us.

It's not too long a level, but I do have a complaint. There are doors we cannot access throughout the train. I would have liked to explore the interior. Instead, we get a key and a keyhole that takes us right out of the stage.

Oh well, it is fun, but the enemy density makes our short stay here a bit rough. Play this one very carefully.

Grade: 4/5

Ghost Castle by Davenport

We have our first open level of the game. The level has regenerating p-switches scattered throughout it...and by scattered I mean the p-switches are on each floor which can easily be reached by a simple jump. All we do is hit the p-switch and explore the many invisible doors that appear on both ends of the multiple floors.

There are two colored switches in the level that are, thankfully, not mandatory. The blue switch gives us access to the hammer suit for the boss fight with Morton. The red switch makes a pointless barrier over some spikes past the checkpoint. The problem with the red switch is that the jump you'd have to do without is very easy, making finding it kinda pointless.

My big complaint about the level is the lack of direction. It makes this level agitating to play. There's also Egyptian Thwomps in the...haunted castle...what? It'd make sense if we were in a pyramid, but it's a castle. There's also skeleton graphics with what looks like black miniature castles behind them...probably because his graphics are missing something called masks.

Nonsense aside, the level picks up for the better after you find the room with the checkpoint. We have a spike-wall segment, a boss fight with Morton, and a slow elevator that can kill us if we're not careful. The elevator will go to the top of the ceiling and crush us to death. We also have to break Motherbrain's glass barrier to access the pipe that will take us to the top of the castle. It takes multiple shot from the projectile shrooms to even break the glass, so it slows down our ability to get out of the castle. On the positive side of the things, the level is over at least...after you grab a propeller block on the castle exterior, dodge a few enemies, and fly to the green sphere. Ugh!

The level's maze elements, nonsensical design choices, and refusal to end make this a bad one to play. The only positive thing I can say about this level is that the outside section of the castle looks really good compared to the interior of it. Unfortunately, one good thing doesn't salvage an awful experience.

Grade: 1/5

Ghost Mansion by Davenport

I'm going to give you the guide to blitzing through this level. There is a bouncing shroom outside. Grab the propeller block that is near by and hop on the bouncing shroom. Run on the roof of the mansion and use the propeller block to jump straight to the exit. Otherwise, you're going to be forced to play a level that is just as open and mazy as Ghost Castle. By mazy, I mean that the rooms repeat, there are REQUIRED secrets, there is no such as direction, and you get a bunch of keys and have to find the doors.

Just skip this level. You're not missing anything.

Grade: 1/5

Ghost Tower by Davenport

Davenport, use masks for your graphics. The green coins look bad because you refuse to do that. Anyway, this level is a little better than the last two. Unfortunately, that's like saying having your hand smashed repeatedly is preferable to gonorrhea. I've neglected to mention this, but his levels keep repeating the same music. I've been playing his levels back to back and it all feels the same.

Anyway, when we get in the mansion we have to traverse the four corners of the room and hit the colored switches that are inside each door. Behind each door is a one screen room with a flamethrower propeller block. You can't take it outside of the rooms, but each room has that in it. After you hit all the switches, you're going to go up a pipe...and keep going up.

There's a bunch of floors that you jump up repeatedly. I cannot convey how...monotonous this gets. Just press the jump key and dodge the enemies that are walking above you. That's all you do.

There's also an evil version of Mario walking around. Whenever you hit the evil Mario, he turns into...a purple shelled koopa? I'm failing to understand Davenport's vision.

The Egyptian thwomp also makes his return...in a tower. At this point, the misplaced thwomp is the least of my problems with these levels. Just get to the top, do a pointless outside section with a propeller block, go down a chimney, and exit the level.

Grade: 2/5


Haunted Palace by Davenport

The music is the same and we're now collecting Sonic rings. There's also more green coins without their graphical masks. Lovely. Anyway, the level is long, mazy, and you're going on a switch hunt to get a key. You're also required to break several Motherbrain glass tanks. We have three floors that we keep running back and forth on.

There is no sense of aesthetics in these levels; they're largely empty and they all look the same. The only nice thing I can even say about this level is that the thwomps aren't egyptian themed and actually look appropriate this time around.

Grade: 1/5

Gloom Catacombs by Davenport

We start outside an Egyptian ruin site with BLARINGLY LOUD 8-bit music accompanying us. It's different at least...until we go in the pyramid. We're going to be running around, hearing music from the previous levels, hitting colored switches, and fetching keys. There's also a mixture of regular thwomps, Egyptian thowmps, ghosts, and an enemy from Legend of Zelda.

Graphically, this level is a mess. We also have to fight Morton to get a star. That means this level is required to beat to access the final level. Ugh!

The only positive thing I can say is that Davenport has gone on to make way better levels than this with later community events.

Grade: 1/5

Ghostly Fortress by Jackalotrun

Basically, it is a short level with signs warning us about a giant wall of lava that's going to chase us. It also tells us that the wall is extremely fast and once we hit the switch we have to run. I don't think the signs were required for the player to figure that out, but fine. Graphically it is not much to look at, but at least it's fun running through the obstacle course.

The problem is that Kentona already beat you to this idea with Ghostwall.

Grade: 3/5

Ghost House by Arcan

It's a ghost house with a SMW cave going through it. This level has a star so we are required to beat it; the good news is that the level is pretty well made, despite the odd cave graphics being mixed in. To elaborate, it doesn't overuse any elements, each section is distinct in appearance, and the obstacles are varied. Unfortunately, there is a bit of key running, which does draw out the level quite a bit.

There's also a nifty elevator section near the end of the level and a giant goomba boss that's floating on a platform. He has fire spitting plants accompanying him, but it is still an easy boss because he dies in one hit.

Grade: 3/5

Terrifying Treehouse by Deckiller

It's a terrifying level if you suffer from arachnophobia. We start the level with a climbing section and then it turns into a maze. Basically, we need to hit a p-switch and fly up to an alcove with a ghost door.



Deckiller has pipes shooting out leaf power-ups, because you need to fly to the exit. It is an open level, but the pipe shooting leaves gives the player a hint as to what they need to do: this is a good thing. Large levels should offer some form of direction and Deckiller understands that idea. Graphically, it is well designed and fun to play. You'll be doing a lot of vine climbing though, so get ready.

Graphics: 5/5

Death Cave by Jackalotrun

I was promised a cave full of death: it didn't happen. At least the cave had enemies filled in it, but it was a bit too short. The level needed to be a bit longer. As it is, it didn't leave me with much of an impression. Sad, because the graphics demonstrated competency.

Grade: 3/5

House of Ghosts by Jackalotrun

Basically, we've got to either use wrap around shenanigans to get a key or we hop straight to a door that will take us to the exit in both the shortest and blandest level yet. I have virtually nothing to grade. That is a huge problem and the score is going to unfortunately reflect that.

Grade: 1/5

Dim Darkness by Apa649

The level starts off with a disclaimer telling the player how NOT to break the level. How to play a level should be intuitive and should require the least amount of explanation. Try to avoid designing levels that can be broken.

Technically, it is not a level, but a boss fight with Motherbrain that uses layers to a good effect. Motherbrain takes a bit to kill, so length isn't too much of a problem: granted, I still wanted SOME level to play instead of just a boss fight.

Grade: 3/5

I Hope You Burn by Flying_Pancake

The title reflects my feelings toward this level. It's yet ANOTHER wall of lava level. There's not a lot of imagination in the graphics department and the level is a bit on the short side.

Grade: 2/5

House of Death by Faenon

Um...there's a Lakitu that throws giant Boos at us. Uh...we have signs threatening us. The secret exit in this level is awful. That's all I got. This level is an incoherent mess. Sorry.

Grade: 1/5

Spirit Causeway by Jackalotrun

Basically, we do a short raft section and “fight” King Boo, who has a really awkward colored outline on his graphic. And by “fight” King Boo, I mean press a switch and send him into lava. It's the classical Bowser setup that the majority of Mario players are familiar with, but there is a difference: King Boo acts like Wart and this level is far shorter than all the castle levels from the original Super Mario Brothers. Regardless, we get a star for our troubles...our one minute of trouble in a graphically bland level.

I hate to say it, but the short levels are really starting to become a theme in this game. I'll take them over excessively long levels, but it kindly makes the game pointless to play. Not to mention it really makes the difficulty of the game seem schizophrenic. Level are supposed to get progressively harder, not easier, as you play them.

Grade: 2/5

Turning Tricks by Link_2112

This is quite the long level. It's also designed really well, uses a lot of layer trickery, and is mostly linear, which I like. The graphics to this level look fantastic. Not to mention it uses the funky music for the intro in the outside section. We also get turned into a ghost at several points.

So far, this is my favorite level in the game.

The only disclaimer I will offer is that there are a lot of enemies, so play cautiously. Also, the Lakitu section towards the end wasn't overly fun, but it didn't detract from the level. It didn't feel like a chore and that's why the score is going to look good.

Grade: 5/5

Hopeless Hauntings by Apa649

Things are thrown together randomly with no thought for aesthetics. Not to mention there's a section where you have to do short hops to avoid spikes that are most likely going to hit you anyway. Birdo's boss theme plays throughout the level, then it switches to Metroid music, and then it goes back to Birdo's theme. I find that to be a highly bizarre musical choice for a ghost house.

As for the Lakitu section, no. You spam WAY too many enemies. Good day, sir!

Grade: 1/5

Ghosthouse Blues by Desmo360

I'm not feeling blue at all after playing Desmo360's level. The music is fantastic and the elevator section is fun. The puzzle with the invisible blocks was well-thought out. Unfortunately, it was a bit easy to fall and it did extend the length of the level quite a bit. The Big Boo encounter at the end was a little unexpected, but other than that the level had all the elements a player would want: a good concept, graphical consistency, and decent length. That allows for this level to be one of the stronger entries in this compilation.

Grade: 4/5

House of Haunt by Link_2112

Digging the music. There's a lot of moving layers and this level plays fast. It can get a little too hectic, but it is perfectly playable, provided you don't get motion sickness from the very fast platforms that are rotating and moving all over the place. The graphics look nice and it has a good length to it, making it one of the better levels to play in this compilation.

Grade: 4/5

Kamek's Peak by Link_2112

This is a slightly irritating boss rush with very little going on in the graphics department. We fight a bob-omb replacement for Boom-Boom, then Morton, and then Kamek himself. My problem with this level is that it's just a boss rush. You can finish it in about 2 minutes tops. Not the ideal way to end the game, but I guess. Turning Tricks was the real final level of the game in my opinion.

Grade: 3/5

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So that's it for Mario's Mansion. This is my first time playing this particular SMBX series on RMN and I hate to say that the first entry did not give a good impression. The good levels were dragged down by other levels that, frankly, were amateur at best.

Here's the final tally:

Story: N/A (Mario is hardly a series known for it's story, so there's not much of a plot to evaluate.)

Music: 3/5 (Often too repetitive with some of these levels. Most of the tracks fit, so I am giving some leeway on this score.)

Graphics: 2.5/5 (As much as I have complained about the bland looking levels in this, do not forget there are very good looking levels. Turning Tricks and Ghost Dancers are two instances of the aesthetics being very pleasing to look at. Unfortunately, the majority of the levels have very little put into them when it comes to the graphics department. Beyond the good levels, I would like to say that the world map is at least pleasant on the eyes; it's nothing overly special, but it doesn't look "bad" by any means.)

Gameplay: 2/5 (The bad levels drag this game down hard! It also doesn't help that the difficulty is all over the map and poorly paced. The only reason you'd want to download this game is to play the good levels through the SMBX editor, rather than put yourself through the entire compilation.)

First Impression Score: 5/5 (I wrote this down after playing the first three levels. I had high hopes for this game. The intro and first few levels were really good. Needless to say, I was in for a rude awakening.)

Last Impression Score: 2/5 (I honestly wanted this game to just be over by the time I got to the end, which is the worst impression you can leave on someone. So why a 2/5? Because there were enjoyable moments scattered throughout this project. Unfortunately, I would never subject myself to another sitting of this entire game again. Instead, I'll only play the quality levels that are at least offered by the developers.)

Total: 2.5/5